NEW YORK, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 edged lower on
Monday as a four-week rally stalled, while a rebound in Apple
shares helped buoy the Nasdaq.

Caterpillar shares helped cap losses in the Dow
industrials even as the company posted a 55 percent drop in
quarterly profit due to a charge connected with accounting fraud
at a Chinese subsidiary and weak demand among its dealers.
Caterpillar's shares, down 2.2 percent in the past three
sessions, rose 1.5 percent Monday to $96.97.

The S&P 500 is coming off a streak of eight sessions of
gains, the longest in eight years. On Friday, the major U.S.
stock indexes closed a fourth straight week of gains with the
S&P 500 ending the session above 1,500 for the first time in
more than five years.

The rally has left the market vulnerable to a short-term
pullback of up to 3 percent in the S&P 500 as bullish sentiment
continues to rise, according to Richard Ross, Auerbach Grayson's
global technical strategist.

"Still," Ross said, "we have a lot of momentum and nice
seasonality, and technicals support the long-term bull market."

Thomson Reuters data showed that of the 150 companies in the
S&P 500 that have reported earnings so far, 67.3 percent have
beaten analysts' expectations, which is a higher proportion than
over the past four quarters and above the average since 1994.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 9.02 points or
0.06 percent, to 13,886.96, the S&P 500 lost 1.5 points
or 0.1 percent, to 1,501.46 and the Nasdaq Composite
added 8.46 points or 0.27 percent, to 3,158.17.

Bargain hunters lifted Apple after the tech giant's
stock dropped 14.4 percent in the previous two sessions. With
Apple's stock up 2.4 percent at $450.29, the iPad and iPhone
maker regained the title as the largest U.S. company by market
capitalization as Exxon Mobil fell 0.9 percent to $90.94
and slipped back to second place.

"I think there is more downside in Apple if you did get a
broad market pullback," Auerbach Grayson's Ross said.

"I'd be patient unless you're a trader. It might not be the
most attractive entry point."

U.S. durable goods orders jumped 4.6 percent in December, a
pace that far outstripped expectations for a rise of 1.8
percent. Pending home sales unexpectedly dropped 4.3 percent.
Analysts were looking for an increase of 0.3 percent.

Equities have also gained support from a recent agreement in
Washington to extend the government's borrowing power. On
Monday, Fitch Ratings said that agreement removed the near-term
risk to the country's 'AAA' rating.

Hess Corp shares shot up 5.3 percent to $62.02 after
the company said it would exit its refining business, freeing up
to $1 billion of capital. Separately, hedge fund Elliott
Associates is looking for approval to buy about $800 million
more in Hess stock.

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc said a late-stage
trial of its experimental kidney disease drug met the main study
goal, and its shares soared 67 percent to $5.75.